The Hiding Place
by blueseacowboy
Summary: Harry finds more than he expects on his way to a Halloween party.


The Hiding Place

Admiral Harriman Nelson sat at his desk at the Nelson Institute of Marine Research, thoroughly engrossed in a report he was reading when a deafening boom of thunder rocked the building he sat in, followed quickly by a brilliant flash of lighting that lit the interior of his office. Rising, he went to the row of windows on the far side of his office and peered out at the wicked weather on the other side, shaking his head in concern. Clouds skittered across the darkening sky as a huge storm blew in from the ocean; lightning illuminating the threatening clouds in brilliant colors. Far below, wind whipped the crashing waves of the Pacific into white tipped froth while sand blew past his window, carrying bits of debris with it. Tonight was not a good night to be out and about and he frowned as he pondered the evening ahead with dismay. Perhaps there was still a way to get out of it. Maybe if he…

A loud knock on the door to his office broke his concentration and he called, "Come," brusquely as he headed back to his desk and sat down.

The door opened to reveal his secretary, Angie Wood, dressed in an outlandish outfit of black, frilly material that went to just below her knees. A headpiece sporting sequins with a black feather sticking out of it and a long necklace of pearls completed her outfit.

"Miss Wood, that outfit is...very interesting," he said to his smiling secretary.

"Why thank, you, sir! I have your costume all ready to go," she said with a sweet smile.

"I...uh...look…costumes and this whole Halloween stuff just isn't my thing," he said with an uncomfortable look.

"Admiral, you know this is important to your sister. I mean the First Annual NIMR Halloween Party for Underprivileged Kids? That's big stuff!"

"Yes well, it's a rather pretentious name for a Halloween party if you ask me. Why did Edith think that was an acceptable name anyway? And First Annual? That implies there will be a second and a…"

"You're changing the subject, sir."

"Yes I was, Angie," he sighed. "Trying to at least. I was actually thinking that if I have to go to this, I would go as a...oh I don't know...a four-star admiral?" he said with a twitch of his lips.

"That's not a costume, Admiral. That's your job. A costume is something you don't see everyday, such as ghosts or skeletons or aliens or…"

"I thought you said things I don't see every day?" he said with a smug smile as he leaned back in his chair.

"All right, things _normal_ people don't see every day," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Point taken, but just who at this party, other than my employees, is going to know the uniform is my normal attire and not a costume?"

"That's really not the point. Besides, a uniform might scare some of the kids."

"A uniform would scare them but not a ghost or a skeleton? I think you're reaching."

"Perhaps," she sighed heavily. "Anyway, there's a great costume all set for you right outside the door. Edith picked it out herself. I can go..."

"No, no, no," he said waving his hands in the air. "I don't want to know what Edith thought would make a good costume. Look, I'll go to this party but I refuse to wear a costume. I will however change from my uniform to slacks and a pullover. Does that meet with your approval?"

"No. But if that's the best you can do I guess we will have to accept it."

"You mean Edith will have to accept it," he said with a smile.

"Something like that, yes. She's going to be pretty disappointed if you don't wear it," she said, trying one more time to guilt him in to wearing, what she thought was a good, if unconventional, costume and one she would have liked to see him in.

When he didn't budge, she sighed heavily and pasted a sad look on her face. "All right. Disappoint your only sibling. And me. We'll get over it. I suppose. Someday."

"You know, you're very good at that, Angie," Nelson said with a chuckle.

"At what, sir?" she asked innocently.

"You know at what…the whole guilt thing."

"Did I do it well enough?" she asked hopefully.

"Even _you_ aren't good enough to get me to wear whatever is hanging out there."

Shaking her head sadly, she began to head for the door. "Well, I need to get to the Recreation Center and help set up. You _will_ be there in an hour. Right?"

"Yes, Angie I will be there in approximately an hour. I just have to finish this report, make some notes and change. I'll be there in time to watch the parade of ghosts, zombies and aliens. All right?

"All right. Just don't be late. I'll send someone back here to drag you to the party if I have to."

"When am I ever late?" he asked with an innocent look.

"When are you...every time you get caught up in some project or reading an interesting...

His laughter stopped her tirade when she realized he was teasing her.

"I _will_ be there, Angie. Tell Edith I'll be there. OK?"

"OK. In an hour."

"In an hour. Ish," he added with a smirk which earned him a frown from his secretary.

"Oh! I almost forgot. Edith wanted me to give you the phone number of the Rec Center," she said as she hastily wrote down the number for him on a piece of paper and handed it to him. "In case something comes up, she said call her right away."

"Hmm, what she means is call her and she'll send someone to drag me there," he said with a grimace.

Angie laughed quietly and shook her head. "Probably. I guess I should get moving. I'll see you there in…"

Another loud clap of thunder interrupted her at that moment and shook the building causing Angie to jump. "I was hoping the storm would wait until we were all done," she said with a frown. "It's supposed to get nasty tonight."

"Why don't I call someone to drive you over," Nelson said reaching for the phone. "I'd feel better if you weren't driving over there by yourself in this storm."

"That's not necessary, Admiral! Really! I'll be fine. We had bigger storms than this back home and I lived."

"Are you sure? It's supposed to be a pretty bad storm," he said in obvious concern. "I can drive you there myself I suppose, if you can wait a few minutes. I just need to…"

Noticing his frown, she shook her head. "No, no, I know you want to get that report done tonight. And if you do, you'll have a lot more fun than if you sit around thinking that it didn't get done," she said with a knowing smile.

Nelson laughed loudly and leaned back in his chair. "You have this uncanny knack for understanding me, Miss Wood. All right, go on your own but if you have any problems…"

"I'll call. It's only a few minutes away, sir!"

"Yes, well, leave the door open on your way out so I can hear if your phone rings."

"Yes sir," she said. "An hour, Admiral! Remember."

"I have an alarm set, Angie. Stop worrying!"

Shaking his head, he watched his secretary leave the office and smiled as he heard her humming as she gathered her things. Just as he'd looked back down to the report on his desk, another clap of thunder boomed and he rose from his chair to walk to the windows once more. As he watched the storm blow in, he was overcome by a sense of melancholy as he remembered last Halloween and what he had lost. A storm much like this one had hit costing him more than he wanted to think about and his heart ached at the memory. It was hard to believe it had been a year. He stared out the window with unseeing eyes for a time as he remembered what had happened and felt once again the guilt, anger and sadness rise up in him.

Closing his eyes, he lowered his head and struggled to push the images, the thoughts, from his mind, and finally managed to tear himself away from the dark turn his thoughts had taken. It did no good to remember. The past was the past. As he walked back to his desk, he sat down, trying once more to read through the report he had been attempting to read for the past three hours.

2.

A shrill alarm on his desk alerted Nelson that his time was up way too soon. He'd finally gotten through the report and had made a few notes on the piece he would go over tomorrow. Stretching the kinks from his back, he rose and went out into the outer office, intending to grab a quick cup of coffee, when he was startled to see a pirate sitting in a chair by Angie's desk.

"Hey, Admiral!" the pirate said. "Miss Angie said I was to wait for you and make sure you got to the party all right."

Nelson's breathing began to resume at a more normal rate as he recognized the pirate. "That's not necessary, Kowalski. As you can see, I'm just about ready," he said as he poured himself a cup of cold coffee, grimacing as the bitter brew hit his tongue.

"But sir…where's your costume? The kids are gonna all be dressed up. Don't you want to…?"

"I most certainly do not want to be found wearing a costume, Ski. I will change, but not into a costume," he said gruffly, getting tired of the whole issue of costumes. "And you do not need to wait for me."

"But…I was told…to…"

"You were told to make sure I got there on time?"

"Uh…yes sir."

"By my sister or Angie?"

"Well…uh…both sir," he said meekly.

Nelson shook his head. "I _am_ capable to getting places all by myself, am I not, Ski?" he asked as he placed the coffee cup back down on the table, knowing Angie would take care of it in the morning.

"Well, sure sir! I just think…they…you…uh…"

"Relax, Kowalski. I'm only going to be a few more minutes. Why don't you head out? Tell Edith I'll be there shortly. All right?"

Not wanting to tick his boss off any further, Kowalski nodded. "Of course. I'll…uh…head out," he said just as a tremendous crack of thunder shook the building and the lights flickered. "Sure is a great night for a storm, isn't it, Admiral? Just adds to the creepiness!"

"Yes, it does I suppose. I just hope there are no problems because of it. Don't want to lose power in a room full of kids. Might make the creepiness a little too real," he said as he ran a hand over his suddenly chilled arms.

"You all right, sir?"

"What? Oh, yes I'm fine. I…just got a chill. That's all."

"If you say so, sir. I'll head out now I guess," he said as he watched Nelson in concern for a moment, then grabbed his sword and buckled it on."

"I'll see you at the party shortly," Nelson said distractedly, looking about the outer office nervously as a feeling of anxiety enveloped him.

"_Don't go. Stay here."_

"What did you say, Kowalski?" Nelson asked, turning back to the seaman.

"Uh…I didn't say anything, sir."

"You didn't…I guess I'm hearing things," Nelson laughed uneasily,as he rubbed a hand along the side of his head. "Could have sworn…"

"Could have sworn what, sir?"

"Oh…nothing, Ski. Nothing. Just the wind I guess. You head on out. Tell Edith I'll be there shortly."

"Yes sir. Sir…uh…are you sure you're all right? You kind of look…funny."

Nelson turned back to the young seaman and laughed at his concern. "I'm fine, Kowalski!" he said slapping him on the back. "Just got to thinking abut something. You go on."

"If you're sure, I'll head out then, sir," Kowalski said hesitantly as he headed for the door, turning back in time to see Nelson rub his arms again as he gazed about the office frowning. Shrugging, Kowalski headed down the hall, anxious to get to the party on time.

Feeling as though someone was standing behind him, Nelson turned quickly, but wasn't fast enough to see a shadow disappear into his office. Shaking himself mentally, he began to head back into his office when he saw the costume his sister had thought he would wear draped over a chair in the waiting room and he walked over to it.

Holding it up, he smiled at the way his sister's mind worked when he saw the outfit-black pants, black shirt, black boots, black hat, black cape, and a sword- staring back at him. "Zorro? She thought I would go as Zorro?" he said as he made an indelicate sound with his mouth and shook his head. He lay the outfit back down and turned away, heading to his office to change but kept hearing Angie's words echo in his mind. Edith _would_ be disappointed in him if he didn't wear the thing. And he hated disappointing his sister. Stopping, he put his hands on his hips and raised his eyes to the roof, grimacing as guilt assaulted him. Turning his gaze to the black outfit once more, he stalked back to it; cast a slightly more interested look at it as he held it up and sighed heavily. "I know I'm going to regret this," he said as he headed into his office.

3.

A short time later, Nelson emerged, dressed in the Zorro costume his sister had chosen for him and walked to a nearby mirror, trying to see how bad the outfit looked on him. After holding the mask up and putting the hat on, he cocked his head in speculation, then shrugged. What could it hurt to wear it? "What it could hurt is my reputation," he answered himself. "But, I don't have time to change again, so…I guess tonight I am Zorro," he said forlornly, grabbing the sword and shaking his head at his sister's cockamamie ideas. "Maybe no one will know it's me if I wear the mask."

Shutting off the lights and closing and locking the door behind him, he flinched as the building was shaken by another tremendous clap of thunder. The lights in the hall flickered then went out completely.

"Oh great. That's just great," he said in anger as he tried to find his way down the pitch-dark hall.

"_Don't go, Harry."_

"What? Who's there?" he asked the darkness. He stayed still for a moment, as he listened hard, shivering as a breeze wafted over him, unsettling him further. "Come out! It's not funny." When he heard nothing more, he muttered darkly to himself about losing it and started off again, startled when the lights sputtered back on again.

"Yes, excellent night for a Halloween party," he said sourly as he hurried down the stairs, deciding getting caught in the elevator in a black out was not on his list of things he wanted to encounter tonight. Unseen, a black mist followed him down the stairs.

Reaching the ground floor quickly, he headed to his car parked a short distance away, the shapeless shadow following closely. Opening the door hastily, he launched himself inside, trying to avoid being drenched in the downpour of rain that had just started and managed to get his cape stuck. Swearing, he opened the door and pulled the drenched cape inside. "Had to wear the damn thing didn't you?" he said to himself. "Had to make Edith happy, didn't you?"

He snorted as he knew that of course he had to make Edith happy. She was his baby sister and he had taken it upon himself when she was first born to always be there for her, a task he had not always lived up to with his dreams and life's work. Over the years she'd grown into a beautiful young woman and he was as proud of her as their parents would have been had they lived to see her reach her adulthood.

"Well, let's see about getting to the festivities on time," he said as he headed down the road, stopping at the guardhouse.

"Heading out for the night, Admiral?" the guard, Ben Buckley said with a salute.

"Yes. Yes I am, Ben."

"Tonight's Miss Edith's big Halloween party, isn't it?" the guard asked.

"Yes. She's been planning this for months."

"Well, I'm betting she did a bang up job and those kids are gonna have the time of their lives. You too, sir! That's a great costume by the way. A pirate would have been a better choice though. Don'tcha think?"

"Trust me, Ben I did not choose the outfit. This was my sister's idea, although I have to agree with you on the pirate idea. I'd better get moving or I won't hear the end of it from Edith if I'm late."

"You have a good night, sir!" he said as he opened the security gate and waited until Nelson had passed through before closing it again.

With a wave, Nelson sped down the road, driving for a few minutes before entering the outskirts of town. Turning, he began driving down the streets, headed for the Santa Barbara Recreation Center; his concentration focused on the wind whipped, wet road he drove down.

Stopping at a stop sign, he startled in alarm when a fist pounded on his car window. Turning his head, he gasped as he saw a skeleton and a clown staring back at him and he heard yells. He was about to unlock the door when he felt an icy touch on his arm and thought he heard a voice say, _"Don't open it, Harry. Don't stop. Go!"_ He turned to look beside him uneasily but when he saw nothing next to him, he turned back to unlock the door. Before he could open it though, it was wrenched from him and two pairs of hands pulled him from the car. A fist connected quickly with his jaw and something smashed into the side of his head before he could react. Dazed momentarily, he struggled against the pair landing a few good punches and smiling in satisfaction as one of his attackers fell at his feet. A hand pulled him about before he could turn to his other attacker and the last thing he saw was a knife before excruciating pain tore through him and blackness claimed him.

4.

"Well, where is my big brother?" Edith Nelson, dressed as a fairy princess, asked crossly to the young seaman.

"He was just about to get ready when I left. I swear. He said he would be leaving a few minutes after I did," Kowalski said quickly. "He told me not to wait."

"Edith? What's wrong," a voice from behind her said.

Turning, she saw Lee Crane dressed as a sheriff complete with chaps and a ten gallon hat, coming towards her, concern on his face. Close on his heels was Chief Francis Sharkey dressed as Popeye.

"My big brother is late! That's what wrong. Angie made him promise to be here on time. He promised _me_ he would be here on time. But, he isn't," she said irritably.

"Calm down, Edith! I'll just call his office. He probably got sidetracked," Lee said smiling, knowing how easily Admiral Nelson could lose track of time when he was absorbed in something. Finding a phone nearby, he quickly dialed his boss's number. Several rings later, he put the phone down and turned to her. "Well, he didn't answer so he's probably already on his way. Now let's get this party started. The help is getting anxious to get to work," he said soothingly.

"Yes, all right. But he had better show up soon and with a good excuse," she said as she stomped away, her long dress flowing behind her.

Crane, Sharkey and Kowalski followed behind her. "Skipper? Do you want me to go look for him? I mean, he might have had car trouble or something. Or he could have gotten caught up in something and didn't hear the phone," Kowalski asked.

"I could go with him, sir," Sharkey said. "Won't take long to run back the way he would have driven."

"No, let's give it a few more minutes before we go launching a search and rescue operation. You know how he is about people worrying about him," he said with a smile. "If he isn't here in a half hour, we'll send out the cavalry."

"Cavalry, sir? That's not very navy," Kowalski said with a frown.

Crane laughed heartily. "You know what I mean. Now come on. Some of the kids are beginning to arrive from the Center!"

The next half hour went by quickly as more and more kids, dressed as ghosts, zombies and an assortment of fairy princesses and firefighters, arrived for the party. With each passing minute, Crane's anxiety grew until he finally listened to the voice inside his head that had been screaming to him that something had happened to the admiral and he called the Institute again. No answer at the admiral's office again had him calling the guard station.

"Ben? It's Lee Crane! I'm looking for the admiral. Has he left yet?"

"Hey, Skipper! Sure the admiral left here over an hour ago! Said he couldn't be late! Why? Didn't he get there yet?"

"No. No he hasn't. Was he driving his car?"

"Yes, sir. Same as always."

"All right, Ben. Thanks."

"Anything I can do?" he asked in anxiety.

"Um…not right now. I'm going to call the police. See if there have been any accidents reported. If I can think of anything, I'll call you back," he said brusquely.

Grabbing a nearby phone book, Crane searched for the phone number for the Santa Barbara police and dialed the number quickly, waiting anxiously until his call was answered. He was informed that there had been several accidents because of the storm but none serious and none involving Admiral Harriman Nelson. Placing the phone down carefully in its cradle, alarm bells began to ring louder in Crane's head and he shivered as if a chill wind had just blown through. Something had happened to the admiral, but what?

From across the room filled with happy kids enjoying the party, Angie Wood's eyes lit on the scowling face of Lee Crane and she frowned. Glancing about the room quickly, she realized her boss hadn't shown up yet and concern flared in her. Smiling at the kids that pranced and played games about her, she made her way slowly to Crane's side, pausing when she saw Kowalski and Sharkey appear by his side followed by Chip Morton dressed in a chef's outfit. The men leaned close to each other as Crane talked quietly to them, worry marking their faces.

"What's going on?" Angie asked when she had finally navigated the room. "Where's the admiral?"

"Yes, I'd like to know that, also," said a voice behind her.

Turning she saw Edith Nelson, a scowl gracing her elegant features, standing behind her.

Lee sighed heavily as he knew he couldn't keep the admiral's disappearance from them.

"We don't know where he is right now. I'm sure he just got caught up in something and he'll be here shortly. Why don't you go back to the kids?" he said, hoping it placated them.

"What do you mean you don't know where he is? Has someone called him at his office again?" Edith asked brusquely.

"Yes. I did. He isn't answering."

"And?" she said as a shiver filled her at his words and tone.

"And I'm sure he'll be here shortly. Let's get back to…"

"Lee, you know my brother may lose track of time when he finds something of interest, but he knew this was important to me. He wouldn't be this late unless something had happened. Did you call the gate? Did he leave yet?"

Knowing his boss's sister was just as relentless as her brother in her quest for answers, he sighed and said softly, "He left over an hour ago, Edith. And before you ask, I called the police and there have been no major accidents and none involving the admiral."

"Then where is he?" she asked quietly as she looked at each of them in turn, knowing they didn't have any more answers than she did and her heart dropped.

5.

Admiral Harriman Nelson felt himself floating somewhere between being awake and being asleep, and he wondered where he was and why he was so wet and cold. He shifted his position slightly and gasped as he felt fire flare through his side, surprising him with the intensity of it. Slowly, he reached a shaking hand out to the source of the pain and felt wetness. Further probing found a hole in his side that apparently was bleeding quite freely. What the hell had happened to him? And where was he? He tried to sit up and groaned as pain tore through his side and his head.

When the pain had eased to a manageable level, he inched his way slowly into a sitting position, trying hard to see through the waves of pain and dizziness that overcame him at the movement. Nothing but darkness greeted his eyes and he tried using his hands to assess where he was. Feeling about him he thought he felt bits of what felt like broken glass and pieces of paper scattered about him and his confusion mounted as he tried hard to remember what had happened and where he could be. All he could tell for sure was he wasn't in his office. The scent of the sea mixed with the fresh scent of falling rain and some chemical smell wafted through the space he was in and his perplexity doubled.

"Near the ocean. Somewhere…That's very helpful. Why can't I remember what happened? And that smell…I know I know what it is, but what?" he asked aloud, surprising himself at the echo he heard as his words bounced off walls. "Apparently I'm inside…a room? Closet? Jail? Cell? Why can't I remember?" he asked as he rubbed his throbbing head.

He shivered as blood pooled underneath him and he knew he needed to try to stop the bleeding. Feeling something tugging at his throat, he reached a hand up, surprised to find something tied there. Further exploring told him he had a cape wrapped about his neck.

"What the hell am I doing wearing a cape?" Grabbing it, he took it from his neck and tied it tightly around his stomach, gasping in pain as he cinched it tighter over the wound in his side. He laid his head back and closed his eyes, waiting for the throbbing in his side to ebb enough for him to think.

After a few minutes trying to control the pain and the hold it had on him, he tried to remember what had happened, but the last thing he could recall was being in his office reading. Obviously, there was more to his evening that he wasn't remembering, especially considering he definitely was not wearing his uniform. The pounding in his head told him it might be a contributing factor to his memory loss.

A crack of thunder startled him for a moment and he remembered the horrific storm he had watched from his office. How long ago was that? Maybe he'd been in an accident, but that didn't seem right. He struggled to remember the last thing he had done. He'd been standing by the window watching the storm and…and remembering last Halloween…

"Oh, James," he whispered. "I'm sorry. I should have gone with you. I shouldn't have canceled on you." He laid his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, remembering.

A storm, much like this one, had taken the life of one of his oldest friends. James Ian O'Malley had been his friend from the first time they had met in the private school they both attended in Boston. Sons of bankers, they had gravitated towards one another as if drawn by a magnet. Finding they shared the same love of the sea, they had persuaded their families to join yachtclubs and together they sailed the waters of the Atlantic, drawing the ire, and worry, of their parents when they couldn't be found for long stretches of time. Over the years they had drifted apart as James had become a well respected marine photographer on the east coast and Harry had gone off to Annapolis and rose through the ranks of the Navy swiftly.

Getting together had become a hit or miss thing as the two were often separated by one, if not more than one, continent. But James and his wife Elise had moved to the west coast just two years ago to be where the winters were warmer as well as to be closer to their children who had moved west and started their own families after graduating college. As close in proximity as they were, Harry still found it hard to meet up with his childhood friend: something he regretted still a year later.

Ever the sailor, James had bought a sailboat from a man in San Diego with the intention of sailing it north to his dock at his home north of Los Angeles. He'd called Harry excited about the new sailboat he'd purchased and had practically begged Harry to fly down with him to ferry it home. Just like old times, he'd said. Just the two of us. After a few minutes thought, he'd agreed and had made plans to go. But just before his flight was to leave a crisis at the Institute had arisen and he'd called James to tell him he couldn't make it. That was the last time he'd ever talked to his boyhood friend as he'd been caught in a storm, much like this one, on his way north and the boat he'd purchased sank,his body never found. A year later, Harry still struggled with the guilt of not being there for his friend and wondered if somehow he could have made a difference if he had gone along. Maybe James would still be alive.

"I'm sorry, James. I wish things were different."

A burst of wind tore through the room he was in, knocking over something large nearby and bringing Nelson back from his well of guilt and to his predicament.

"Need to figure out where I am. Get help," he said to the empty room.

Deciding he needed a better vantage point from wherever he was seated, he attempted to pull himself to his feet, immediately regretting his decision as waves of pain, dizziness and nausea wafted over him. Pushing back against the wall, he levered himself up to his feet gradually and rested for a moment as he waited for the pain and dizziness to ease. Opening his eyes wider, he was surprised at how dark it was wherever he was.

A crack of deafening thunder echoed about the room followed by a brilliant burst of lightning that lit the room briefly. For a split second, Nelson could make out shapes in the space about him and tried walking, promptly running into a large object. Looking down he made out the shape of a desk or a long counter.

"A store? Am I in a store? An office? Maybe there's a phone nearby," he said to himself as he began to search the top of the counter, finally finding what felt like a phone cord. He pulled it towards him and smiled as the phone followed.

"Phone number…I need to call someone. I…need to…to…." Dizziness flowed over him and he collapsed onto the floor, the phone landing beside him with its dial tone mocking him in his unconsciousness.

6.

"All right. The police have been informed of the admiral's disappearance," Lee Crane said to the group of _Seaview's_ crew that had volunteered to help at the party. "They have a description of his car and will be on the look out for it. ONI and the FBI have both been alerted. So far there's no Intel that the admiral may have been the target of an abduction attempt but we're still waiting for more word. SBPD is sending someone here to help us in our search. They should be here soon. In the meantime, I want all of you to scour the route he would have taken to get here. Use your radios to keep in contact with us. Find him!" he said anxiously. The group of grim faced, costumed men nodded and took off, breaking up into smaller groups to search.

Lee turned to look over his shoulder at the party that still raged inside. Edith and Angie walked about the groups of prancing partygoers, doing their best to pretend everything was fine while he knew their insides were twisted in fear.

"What do _we_ do, Lee?" Chip asked.

"Wait," he said curtly. "This may all be a mistake and he just had car trouble. Maybe he took a different route. Hell, I don't know, Chip," he said running a hand through his hair. "I left the number here for the FBI, ONI and police to call if there's any word."

"I sure hate waiting," Chip said quietly.

"Yeah, me too."

7.

Nelson jumped as a loud clap of thunder shook whatever place he was in as a gust of wind rattled the walls of his prison. Happy to find he had regained consciousness, but not pleased about the pain that tore through him, he tried hard to remember what he had been doing before darkness claimed him. "What was I doing? I…I was looking for something. But what?"

Several seconds passed before the answer came to him. "A phone," he whispered. "I was…looking for a phone. Where is it?" he asked the darkness as he felt around his body and the floor, relieved when his hand connected with the desired object.

"Who…who do I call? I don't remember where I was going. The Institute…I should call the Institute. They…no…wait…party…something about a party. Why can't I think? Edith's party…Angie gave me a number! Yes, that's right. She said something about call if…if I was late. Well, I'm late," he mumbled. "At least I think I am."

Fumbling in his pants pocket, he managed to produce a slip of paper that had a number written on it. Struggling hard to read the numbers in the darkness that surrounded him, he held the paper to the little bit of light that came from a nearby window and waited until the room was lit by a bright flash of lightning, then cursed as the numbers blurred before his eyes. Several more flashes of lightning finally gave him the numbers on the paper and he dialed them, relieved the phone had a dial tone.

"Hello! Santa Barbara Recreation Center!" a crisp voice answered.

"I…I need to speak to Lee Crane," he whispered.

"Admiral? Admiral is that you?" the voice asked in obvious concern.

"Who…who is this?"

"It's Angie! Sir, where are you? We've been worried about you!"

"I…I…don't know where I am, Angie. I need to talk to Lee."

He fought to stay conscious as he heard her ask someone to find Lee but found it a monumental task as the fire in his side burned and his head throbbed in beat to his heart. At least he had a heartbeat, he thought wryly.

"Admiral? Admiral, are you there? What's wrong?" Angie asked anxiously when she came back on the line.

"I don't know, Angie. I seem to be hurt."

"You're hurt? How badly," she asked in alarm.

"Angie, what's wrong?" he heard Lee say on the other end.

Gratefully he heard Angie telling Lee what he had told her, which wasn't much.

"Admiral, what happened? Where are you?" Lee's concerned voice practically shouted as he took the phone from Angie.

"I'm hurt, Lee. Don't know how badly."

"Where? Where are you hurt?"

"My side…there's blood. A lot of blood. And my head's pounding…I can't think straight."

"Were you in an accident?" he asked as fear consumed him at the pain-filled tone of Nelson's voice.

"No…no I don't think so."

"All right. Tell me where you are. I'll come for you."

"I…don't know…where I am, Lee. I woke up in some room. I'm wet. And cold. It's dark. I…I managed to find a phone."

"Did someone take you, sir? Admiral? Were you abducted?"

"I don't know. I can't remember what happened."

"Can you walk to a window? Are you tied up?"

"I'm…not tied. Walking may be a problem though," he said as he gathered the strength to try standing again. In the background he heard Lee talking to someone telling them to put the call on a speakerphone and to find Chip. Good. He was sure the two of them together would find him, somehow.

Nelson pushed himself slowly into a sitting position, trying to ignore the pain that lanced through him and the dizziness that seemed a permanent part of him now. He grabbed hold of the top of the counter and pulled himself up, gasping in agony. Slowly, he straightened until he was standing, wobbling, but standing. From this vantage point he made out a faint light coming from his right and he angled for it, pulling the phone with him.

Finally he stumbled to a window and leaned heavily on the wall, peering out. "I can't see anything, Lee. It looks like…an alley or…or a side street. There are low buildings across from me. They…they might be stores…I don't know. There's nothing that gives me a clue where I am. There's no traffic that I can see," he said as lightning flashed, its light not aiding the injured man in figuring out where he was.

"Can you see any street signs or store signs?" Lee asked anxiously.

"Everything's blurry. There's nothing to tell me where I am. Just…just that I can smell the…the ocean. And some chemical smell. I know that's not helpful," he said weakly.

"It's all right. We'll find you," Lee said as his insides twisted in fear, wondering if he was lying to the man. "Did you stop anywhere on the way to the party or did you go straight from the Institute?"

He thought hard but everything was shrouded in mist. He tried to push it away and to remember.

"I...don't think I stopped anywhere, Lee. But…I…I don't know. I can't remember what happened. Why can't I remember?" he whispered.

"Are you hurt anywhere else but your side?"

"My head…my head hurts. I…I'm dizzy, too. I've got a knot on the side of my head and my jaw hurts," he said as he fingered the side of his head."

"All right, Admiral we'll find you. Can you walk outside?"

"Don't…know where the door is," he whispered hoarsely.

"Try. If you can find a street sign, we can find you."

"I'm trying, Lee," he said as he searched with his eyes for a door.

"Lee, the SBPD is here," Chip said softly, pointing to a trim woman of about thirty with flame red hair pulled back into a pony tail. "This is Detective Chris Powers,"

"Detective Powers," Lee said acknowledging her presence briefly. "Are you the only one they sent?"

"It's a bad night out, Captain. Most of the SBPD is out on calls. I have an APB out on Admiral Nelson however," she said curtly.

"We have Admiral Nelson on the phone right now but he doesn't know where he is," Lee said quietly.

"What do you mean he doesn't know where he is?" Powers asked.

"I mean he's been hurt and doesn't know where he is," Lee said tightly as he tried to carry on a conversation with the detective and listen for the admiral at the same time.

"How badly is he hurt?" Chip asked concern in his voice.

"I don't know. He said he was bleeding from his side, his head hurt and he was dizzy. He must have hit his head somehow."

"Or someone hit it for him," Powers said with a scowl. "There have been a lot of reports of robberies and assaults with this storm. We're stretched pretty thin."

Lee's heart clenched at Powers' words. "He found a phone but can't find a way out of wherever he is."

"Was he kidnapped?" Chip asked his voice quiet.

"He doesn't think so, Chip. He isn't tied up at least."

"Lucky he found a phone. If he can keep the line open we can trace the call and find out his location," Powers said. "I'll call HQ and get someone down here to trace this call."

"Tell them to hurry. We may be running out of time," Lee said softly, fear filling him at his words.

Lee turned back to the phone, hoping the admiral would be able to hear him and was alarmed when he heard a loud crash and a deep moan of pain.

"Admiral? What happened? Are you all right? Admiral!" he shouted into the phone.

On the other end, Nelson fought hard to remain conscious as the waves of pain flowed through him. He pulled the phone to him and tried to speak. Finally, he managed to whisper, "I…I'm sorry, Lee. I…can't…find my way…my way out. So tired…I…"

"It's all right, Admiral. We have a plan. The Santa Barbara Police are here. They're going to trace this call. Don't hang up. OK? Keep talking and we'll find you," Lee said hurriedly.

"I'll try, Lee."

"Ask him if he can remember anything…anything that might tell us what happened to him," Powers said to Lee.

"Admiral…"

"I heard, Lee. I can't remember much. I left the office and…I remember talking to Ben at the gate…then driving. Wind was bad. It was wet. Then…"

The group waited for Nelson to continue. "Then? Then what, Admiral?" Lee asked softly.

"Must have hit my head pretty good."

"I know you're in pain, sir but…"

"No, I mean…the next thing I remember is a…clown. And…and a…a skeleton."

"A clown and a skeleton? Are you sure?"

"No, Lee I'm…not sure of… of anything. I have an image…of the clown…skeleton in my window. I might be dreaming it all…for all I know," Nelson said, his voice rapidly weakening.

"All right. Can you think of anything else? Admiral? Admiral!" he said louder when Nelson didn't respond.

"Sorry, Lee…I'm…so tired…can't stay awake…I'm sorry. Tell Edith…I…I'm sorry…sorry I ruined her night."

At that the phone was wrenched from Lee's hands and Edith Nelson in full command mode, began to issue orders to her brother. "You listen to me Harry Nelson! You did _not_ ruin my night! What _will_ ruin my night is if you…if you give up. Do you hear me? You don't give up! We'll find you. Just be alive for us to find. All right?" she asked in a softer tone, her voice breaking slightly.

On the other end they were surprised to hear a weak chuckle and then, "Yes ma'am. I…I'll be here. On the floor…waiting…waiting for…"

"Admiral? Admiral? Are you there?" Lee called but Nelson didn't answer and the fear inside them all exploded. "Can you still trace the call even though he isn't talking?"

"Yes, as long as the line is open, we can. Here are the techs now. We'll have a trace going in just a few minutes. Hang on," she said as she turned to the newest members of the SBPD to arrive.

Crane began to pace, anxiety filling him as he knew that each second Nelson wasn't found was another step closer to him bleeding out. A gentle hand on his arm had him starting in fear for a moment until he saw Angie staring at him in concern. He looked behind her and saw the party room was emptying of children and he looked down at her in surprise.

"The families knew something was wrong. They cleaned up and headed the children home. He'll be all right, Lee," she said in a tone that told him she was asking him, not telling him.

"Yeah…he'll be all right. He's the admiral," he said decisively as he watched the techs hook the phone up and the trace began.

Agonizing minutes went by as the equipment zeroed in on the admiral's location. Lee wrapped one arm around Edith and one around Angie and drew them close. "He'll be all right. You know he will," he said soothingly to them.

"Do I?" Edith asked. "How many times can he outwit death? So many times I've waited to see if he would live or die. Someday it's going to be the last. Maybe this is the night he doesn't come home."

"You can't think like that. Don't give up on him."

"I'm sorry I just…," what she was about to say died in her throat as an explosion was heard outside and the lights flickered briefly before going out entirely.

"Damn it!" one of the techs exclaimed angrily. "We lost him!"

"What?" Lee yelled. "How? You said as long as the line stayed open, we could trace him!"

"The phones are down, Captain," Powers said bleakly. "Danton, check outside. See what that explosion was. Get some lights in here," she ordered.

Before long, candles flickered in the slight breeze that wafted through the Center as Lee Crane paced back and forth in the dim room, worry filling him. How were they going to find him now? The thought of them not getting to Nelson in time sent waves of grief through him. Not having his friend around any longer wasn't a possibility he wanted to consider.

"Detective, a transformer blew just up the street," Danton said as he ran back into the room. "Power crews are being sent out but the storm has made a mess of most of this area of town. The explosion took out phone lines also."

"Even if we get the phones back up we won't be able to trace him that way-the line's been disconnected," one of the phone techs said.

"Then what do we do?" a quiet voice asked.

Lee turned and stared in consternation at the fear that filled Edith Nelson's face, then turned back to Powers. "What _do_ we do?"

"Danton, were you able to narrow down the area we're looking at?" she asked the tech.

"Yeah. Somewhat," he said.

"Show us where this area is," Powers said tautly as she laid a map of the area on a table.

"The approximate area is here," he said as he marked off the section on the map.

"Chip, contact the men we have out searching by radio. Tell them to converge on this area. Assign each group a section on this grid," he said pointing to the marked area. "The only thing the admiral could tell us was he was inside a building off an alley or a side street. We'll join them soon."

Chip grabbed a radio and peered down at the map quickly assigning sections to the groups that were out searching.

"One other thing, Captain," Powers said. "The storm did a lot of damage on this side of town. All our units are busy with accidents or fires. There's even been a building collapse. Not many units, if any, including ambulances, are available right now."

"So what you're saying is, even if we locate him there won't be an ambulance to get him to a hospital?"

"We could contact the Institute and have someone call Jamie. We could take the admiral to Med Bay if there are no ambulances available," Angie said.

"Already taken care of," said a voice behind them. The group turned to see Dr. Will Jamieson, dressed as a doctor, walk through the door with two of the Institute's Med Bay corpsmen on his heels.

"Jamie? How…?"

"Sharkey called me and told me the admiral was missing. I left the party I was at, grabbed Danny and Jake here and came over. You know where he is?"

"No. We had him on a phone and were tracing the call but we lost the trace when the phone lines went down. They managed to narrow down the area but we don't know where he is for sure."

"Well, we're wasting time standing around here," Jamie said. "Let's head out and find him!"

"Jamie, you take the ambulance and troll the streets in this area," he said pointing to a section that hadn't been assigned yet. "Edith, you and Angie go with Jamie. Keep an eye out for anything that looks unusual."

Edith and Angie left with Jamie and the corpsmen in the Institute ambulance while Lee and Chip went off by themselves, confident the other members of the crew that were out knew what to do. They had to find him. There was no other option.

8.

Wind whipped the building Harriman Nelson lay unconscious in. A chill breeze blew through as a shadow advanced on the comatose admiral, coalescing into the shape of a man.

"Oh Harry. What's happened to you? Beaten and stabbed. You didn't learn a thing from our jaunts into Boston all those years ago, did you?"

Nelson shook himself as he felt a whisper on his face as if a spider web had landed on him and he ineffectually tried to brush it away. Thunder crashed and the night was split with a brilliant flash of lightning while wind threatened to tear the building he was in apart.

"Wake up, Harry. They're coming for you," he heard as a chill hand descended on his arm, its iciness filling him unexpectedly with peace.

"Who…who is it?" he managed to whisper as his eyes struggled to focus on the ethereal figure leaning over him.

"You can't give up. You have to live! One of us has to take care of Elise and…well, it can't be me."

Nelson's eyes began to focus on the figure before him and he recoiled. "James? What…how…you're dead."

"Yes, yes I am old friend. But you aren't. And you aren't fighting hard enough to stay alive. You need to try harder."

"It's not possible…you died…last year."

"Yeah. Stupid storm. I'm glad you didn't come with me, Harry. I'm so glad. I know you feel guilty, but don't. There wasn't a thing you could have done. It happened so fast."

"I…should have come. It…would have been the last…last time. I didn't know…"

"But you'd be dead, too and I wouldn't want that. No one would want that. Too many people care about you, Harry. I tried to warn you in your office and the car not to go out but you didn't hear me."

"Edith…it was important to her."

"You always had a soft spot for her, didn't you? From the first time you laid eyes on your baby sister you were her slave."

"She's…all I have left."

"Of your blood family, yes. But you have so many other people in your life that need you. People that are as close to you as family."

"I…I know. But…why…why are you here? How?"

"Tonight it's been a year since I passed. I've seen how you've been there for Elise and the kids. Just as I knew you would. It's the kind of man you are. I chose well all those years ago when we first became friends."

"Elise…the kids…they…miss you," he said weakly.

"I know. I know. Tell them…tell them I'm all right now. Will you? I have to go soon. My time here is up. I need to cross over tonight. Tell them for me."

"I…if I can…I will…but…but I'm so…so…tired…" Nelson mumbled as he fought the rising darkness.

"Stay awake, Harry! Please! Your crew, your friends, your family all need you. They'll be here soon."

"Who…who will…?"

"You know who. Lee and Chip and your men are coming! You knew they would."

"I…yes… I…I know…"

"Ah. Harry! Wake up! You can't die! They're so close! If you die now, Lee will feel the same guilt you're feeling at what happened last year! Harry!"

But Nelson's eyes slid closed and the figure leaning over him fragmented into wisps of blackness and swirled about the room in agitation before leaving the broken figure on the floor.

9.

The _Seaview_ men had divided up into groups to search the area their admiral was lying injured and possibly dying in. Street after street was checked, buildings, if unlocked, entered and searched but nothing was found of one Harriman Nelson.

"Lee, we've been down all the streets on our grid. He's not here."

"He has to be, Chip! If he isn't then we…we've lost him," he said in anguish.

"What do we do? Where do we look?" Chip asked, his voice betraying the worry he shared with Lee.

"I don't know, Chip. Maybe the trace was wrong."

"If it was and we're looking in the wrong area…"

"I know, Chip," he said quietly, knowing it could cost the admiral his life. "I know." Suddenly he felt a chill pass through him and he shivered.

"You all right?" Chip asked quietly.

"Yeah, just felt like a cold breeze blew right through me," Lee said as he rubbed his hands up and down his arms, uneasily looking about at the darkened streets.

Since their search had begun, no one had been seen walking the streets of the almost deserted town as the storm continued to rage about them, drenching them in a cold rain. If they were cold and wet, then they could only assume Admiral Nelson, wherever he was, was just as cold, if not colder, as the blood loss would only compound the problem.

"Let's head down this street again," Chip said gesturing to a street they had checked not more than a half hour ago.

"We've been down that way. Nothing down there is open. Everything's locked tight."

"Well, let's try again. Then head back up that way," Chip said, pointing up a slight hill.

"We could go off the search grid," Lee said thoughtfully as a black wisp hovered over him. "I get the distinct feeling we should go down this street here," he said distractedly looking at a small, dark street to his left.

"Down that way?" Chip asked pointing to a pitch black street fronted by rows of warehouses and stores. "It's not in the area they said the trace covered but it might have been…" he stopped what he was about to say as he saw a black shadow appear, then slowly disappear into a doorway a few feet from them.

"Tell me you saw that," Lee said quietly.

"I…I saw it. But what was it?" Chip said.

"I don't know. Smoke maybe?"

"Yeah, smoke. Just smoke," Chip whispered nervously, trying to forget that tonight was Halloween.

"Come on, it can't hurt to try down here quickly. We have to find the admiral soon," Lee said tightly, as he headed for the doorway he saw the shadow smoke disappear into, the door hanging open and blowing in the ferocious wind. "We need to check inside this building. Now."

They entered quickly, Crane shining a light about the interior frantically until they saw a still form on the floor by a broken window and the _Seaview_ officers raced to him.

"Admiral?" Lee called as he and Chip knelt by the side of Nelson, his heart in his throat as he reached a hand to his neck, praying hard. He let out a deep sigh as he felt a pulse beat weakly beneath his fingers. "He's alive. Pulse is weak though. We need to put pressure on this wound," he said firmly as he examined the injury in the light of the flashlight Chip held, his stomach dropping at the amount of blood he saw there.

A low moan had Crane and Morton looking down in fear. Nelson's eyes flickered, then slowly opened, looking about him as if he didn't know where he was.

"James? Where…?" His gaze settled on the worried faces hovering above him and a crooked smile broke his lips. "I…I knew…you two would find me," he whispered. "I knew it…he…knew it, too," he said before passing out again.

"He who?" Chip asked. "And who is James?"

"I…I don't know. He's warm. Maybe he's delirious," Lee said as he felt Nelson's forehead.

"I'll radio Jamie and give him our location," Chip said as he grabbed the radio and called Jamieson quickly, filling him in on their location and the admiral's injuries.

"Stay with us, Admiral," Lee said in a soft tone as he kept one hand on Nelson's wrist and one hand pressing on the wound, begging the man to keep living. "Don't go. You can't die. Please! Fight!"

"Lee? That black shadow thing…was it real?" Chip asked quietly.

"I…I don't know, Chip. We both saw it. And if we hadn't seen it…"

"What?"

"If we hadn't seen it, would we have come down here? Would we have found the admiral?" he asked, looking at Chip in question.

"Are you saying it led us here?" Chip asked incredulously.

"I…I don't know. We've seen a lot of things we can't explain in the past few years. Maybe…maybe something led us here. I don't know."

"Do we…you know…talk about it?"

Lee laughed lightly. "We can't explain it, can we? Who'd believe us?"

"He might," Chip said gesturing to Nelson. "Who knows what happened to him. He thought someone was here…this James person."

Crane was silent for a minute as he thought about what Chip had said. "Maybe," he said remembering last year and the accident that had taken the life of Nelson's good friend. "Remember last Halloween? That boating accident?"

"Yeah. We almost lost the admiral that night. If he'd gone on that trip…wait…you think it was _that_ James he thought was here?"

"I don't know what to think. For right now, I'm just glad we found him. Hopefully in time," Lee said as he stared down at Nelson, willing him to live.

The silence in the room was broken a few minutes later by the sound of the Institute ambulance arriving. Crane rose quickly as Jamie and his team ran in and allowed the medical team access to Nelson.

Looking up, he saw Chip moving towards two figures who entered the room on the heels of the team and saw him stop a few feet away and envelop Angie and Edith, their faces masks of fear, in his arms as he kept them from coming too near.

"How bad is it, Jamie?" Lee asked after Jamie had made a cursory examination.

"Not good. He's lost a lot of blood and he's got a pretty good fever going. We need to get him to a hospital. I need to start an IV, get some fluids and some antibiotics in him before we move him though."

Lee sensed someone beside him and turned to see Edith, tears flowing down her cheeks, staring at her brother in fear then a small smile graced her lips. "He wore it," she whispered.

Looking down at his friend, he smiled too when he noticed what was left of the costume the man had been persuaded to wear.

Angie came up beside Edith and hugged her tightly. "You're the only one he would have done it for," she said softly as she laid her head on Edith's and hugged her tighter, her tears mingling with Edith's.

10.

Softness was the first thing Harriman Nelson became aware of as he struggled back to consciousness. The hardness of the floor he had lain on had been replaced by a soft surface and he pondered that fact for awhile until he realized the pain that had become his constant companion was dulled, and he sighed in relief.

"Harry?" a soft voice by his side whispered just as he had decided to slip back into the warm, softness and sleep some more. A gentle squeeze on his hand forced him to decide against that act as he felt the pressure increase and heard the anxiety in the simple call.

He ordered his eyes to open and briefly they obeyed, long enough to glimpse his baby sister sitting by his side, a look of fear mixed with hope and tinged with tiredness on her face.

"Edith?" he managed to croak. "What…where am I?"

"Easy, big brother. I'll tell you all you need to know," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder as she stood over him. "You're in Med Bay at the Institute. You were stabbed and beaten a few days ago. You've been running a pretty good fever but you're finally responding to the antibiotics. There's a nice hole in your side and you have a pretty good concussion but Jamie says you'll be all right. You just need lots of rest."

"I…I remember bits and pieces," he said as his brow furrowed in thought. "It was dark…there was pain…and cold…then…then Lee was there."

"And he still is," Edith said with a smile as she looked over her shoulder. "We never left your side. Chip and Angie are here somewhere, also."

"Admiral," Lee said as Nelson's eyes struggled to focus on the smiling face hovering over Edith's shoulder. "When you don't want to go to a party you'll do anything to get out of it, won't you, sir?" he asked smiling.

"Party? The Halloween party! I missed the charity party?" he asked.

"It's all right, Harry. I forgive you," Edith said with a slight catch in her voice and a light touch on his brow. "Next year though I'm not letting you out of my sight the whole day."

Her brother's slight smile filled her with happiness and relief. "Deal," he said as his strength began to wane. "But…what happened to me?"

"Simply put…you were carjacked by a clown and a skeleton," Lee said briefly as he seated himself on Nelson's bed.

Nelson stared at Lee in confusion. "Want to explain that?"

Lee laughed lightly; the worry of the past few days was fading as he knew his friend and boss would recover fully. In time. "Two men dressed in costumes-a skeleton and a clown-robbed a liquor store. Their car died so they started running. You'd apparently stopped for a stop sign when they ran up to you, dragged you out of the car and you three started fighting. Somehow you ended up stabbed in the side.

Confusion marked Nelson's face as he struggled to remember. "I don't remember that. How did I get…wherever I was?" he asked as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

"They said they broke into a photocopy store and dragged you into it so no one would see you. They took the time to ransack the place and rob it before stealing your car."

"Photocopy store? Yes, the…the chemical smell…that explains the smell. I remember that for some reason but I couldn't place what it was. Wish I could have."

"Well, with the concussion you have, it's surprising you were as aware as you were. They hit you pretty hard," Lee said in anger.

"How do you know all this?" Nelson whispered as he felt himself being pulled away.

"Los Angeles PD found them shortly after we found you. They used your car for another robbery. This time they didn't manage to get away. They won't be out of jail any time soon," Lee said harshly, anger filling him at the knowledge of what they had done and what they had almost done.

"I just keep thinking of you being in that place all alone, cold, wet and hurt," Edith said as tears threatened to pour from her eyes again.

"Alone…" Nelson whispered, his brow furrowed in thought. "Yes…alone." The knowledge he hadn't been truly alone was something he would keep to himself. _"Thank you, James,"_ he thought to himself, smiling when he heard a soft, "_You're welcome, old friend. Take care."_

Lee looked down at Nelson, noticing the smile and wondered about it. Could there have been someone there with him or had they all imagined something that hadn't happened? Was it just something the spirit of Halloween had instilled in them? Maybe when he was stronger, he would ask the admiral. It would make for an interesting conversation.

"You just never know, do you?" Nelson said as a lopsided smile graced his lips.

"Know? Know what, Admiral?" Lee asked in confusion as he leaned closer to Nelson who was rapidly losing his battle to stay conscious.

"All the times…people have tried to kill me…and it's…it's two thugs who had no idea who I was that…came close to doing a good job of it," he said weakly, finally giving in to the welcoming pull of sleep as his eyes slid closed.

"No, you just never know," Edith said as she leaned over her sleeping brother and placed a soft kiss on his forehead, relief that he had come back to her again filling her. "You just never know."

THE END


End file.
